


smells like teen spirit

by Anonymous



Category: IT (Movies - Muschietti), IT - Stephen King
Genre: M/M, POV Eddie Kaspbrak, Pre-Slash, Some Vague Unidentified Summer After Pennywise, Underage Smoking
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-31
Updated: 2020-12-31
Packaged: 2021-03-11 03:54:00
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 285
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28458591
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/
Summary: Eddie watches Richie smoke.
Relationships: Eddie Kaspbrak/Richie Tozier
Kudos: 26
Collections: Anonymous





	smells like teen spirit

Eddie watches Richie smoke.

Richie is too young for it, but still – the incline of his head. His hands, holding the cigarette, half a smile on his face, manic energy finally at peace, tipping his head back and exhaling a cloud of smoke.

It’s all for show, obviously. Richie’s always been a performer; this is no different. Except, maybe, it’s Eddie who’s different.

Eddie, who’s older now, who knows his mother’s full of shit, who tries to be brave and fierce despite the habitual thoughts of allergy, infection, sickness, illness, tetanus, whatever, all of it, all of it that never goes away, less like a birthmark and more like a wobbly tooth he keeps probing at with his tongue, a memory of the feeling of pain.

Eddie’s different. He rattles off death rates and lung cancer statistics, because it’s what he knows and it’s familiar, it’s easy. But he’s really looking at Richie’s mouth, the warm, red, softness of it, the way his lips look when he tilts his head back like that, the way the light makes him look remarkable, beautiful, lovely.

Eddie wants to kiss him, and Eddie’s afraid.

“Pfft, I’m gonna die anyway, let me _live,_ Eds,” Richie says, rolling his eyes, but it’s not rude or cruel or hurtful. It’s just matter of fact.

“As if I could ever stop you from living,” Eddie says, and he sits down next to Richie, cancer stick and all, knocks their shoulders together. “As if I would even try.”

Richie puts his head on Eddie’s shoulder, and Eddie knows he’ll probably carry the smell of cigarette smoke on his clothes, on the way back home.

He can’t really find it in himself to care.

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks for reading, etc etc. Hope you enjoyed, more probably coming soon!  
> Edited to add: [here's another one!](https://archiveofourown.org/works/28465932)


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